Mechanism

1. Donor cell produces pilus.

2. Pilus attaches to recipient cell and brings the two cells together.
3. The mobile plasmid is nicked and a single strand of DNA is then transferred to the recipient cell.
4. Both cells synthesize a complementary strand to produce a double stranded circular plasmid and also reproduce pili; both cells
are now viable donor for the F-factor. The F-factor is an episome (a plasmid that can integrate itself into the
bacterial chromosome by homologous recombination) with a length of about 100 kb.
5. It carries its own origin of replication, the oriV, and an origin of transfer, or oriT. There can only be one copy of the F-plasmid in a
given bacterium, either free or integrated, and bacteria that possess a copy are called F-positive or F-plus (denoted F+). Cells that
lack F plasmids are called F-negative or F-minus (F−) and as such can function as recipient cells.